When can you rely on the Rent Tribunal?
Do you disagree with your landlord or tenant about the rent or the maintenance of your house? Then you may rely on the Rent Tribunal to rule on your problem.
What houses does it regard?
The Rent Tribunal Statia handles disputes about tenancy agreements that regard a use that is, due to its nature, of long term.
When can you rely on the Rent Tribunal?
In the following situations tenants and landlords may institute proceedings before the Rent Tribunal. It is however, recommended to first try to reach an mutual agreement, before you submit an application.
Tenants
› You disagree with the rent increase proposed by the landlord
› You want a rent reduction because the number of points is not correct
› You disagree with a rent increase after improvement of the house
› You want a temporary rent reduction due to overdue maintenance
› You are of the opinion that your monthly advance for utilities is too high or you disagree with the annual settlement of service charges and utilities
› You have not been living in a house for 6 months yet and you request the Rental Committee to determine whether the stipulated rent is correct
Landlords
› Your tenant objected to the rent increase proposed by you
› Your tenant wants a rent reduction and you want to know what you should do
› You want to increase the rent after improvement of the house
› After a temporary rent reduction you have remedied the maintenance defects and you want to return to the old rent
› Your tenant disagrees with the annual settlement of service charges and utilities
› You want to split your all-in rent into basic rent and service charges
How do you submit an application?
Submitting an application
If you do not agree with your tenant or landlord about rent, maintenance and service charges, then you may institute proceedings before the Rent Tribunal Statia. You do this by submitting an application.
Applications
You institute proceedings by submitting a form (application) to the Rent Tribunal. There is a separate application for all proceedings. There are also separate applications for tenants and landlords. Sometimes you need to send documents with the application. If this is the case, then this is mentioned on the application.
Please note: most of the applications must be submitted before a certain date or within a certain period. This is mentioned on the application. If you are too late or too early, then the Rent Tribunal cannot process your application.
Confirmation of receipt
When the Rent Tribunal has received and recorded your application, you receive a confirmation of receipt by letter. The confirmation of receipt contains, among others, the case number and the contact details of the Rent Tribunal. If documents are still missing, then this is also mentioned in the letter. You should send these as soon as possible. This can be done by letter. The Rent Tribunal also sends a confirmation of receipt to the other party, with a copy of your application.
What happens with the application?
When all documents are completed, the Rent Tribunal further processes your application. You receive information about the proceedings by letter. The handling of the case takes a number of weeks.
Changes during the proceedings
It is important that the Rent Tribunal has the correct name and address details of the tenant and the landlord. Hence, always communicate changes like a move or other changes to the Rent Tribunal as soon as possible by letter.
Course of the proceedings
Collecting information
Depending on the type of application that was submitted, the Rent Tribunal collects information. This can be done through a survey at the house or by checking if the landlord charged the correct amounts for (services) charges.
Survey at the house
If a survey takes place at the house, then both parties receive a letter two weeks in advance. This letter contains the date and the time when the surveyor of the Rent Tribunal visits.
Hearing
The tenant and the landlord are both invited to a hearing of the Rent Tribunal. During the hearing they can react to the report. You can find more information about this on the page about The hearing.
Ruling
After the hearing, the Rent Tribunal reaches a decision in the case. This takes place without the landlord and the tenant. The Rent Tribunal sends the ruling to both parties by post, usually within three weeks after the preparatory survey.
Do not agree with the ruling
The ruling of the Rent Tribunal has binding effect. Do you not agree with the ruling of the Rent Tribunal? Then you can institute proceedings before the Court in the First Instance of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. You should do this within six weeks after the Rent Tribunal has sent the ruling.
Ruling of the President
Occasionally, the Rent Tribunal does not conduct a survey or does not hold a hearing. The President of the Rent Tribunal then issues a ruling. You receive the ruling of the President by post. If you do not agree with the ruling of the President of the Rent Tribunal, then you can object (file objections) within six weeks. The Rent Tribunal then assesses your objection and may decide to handle the case again.
Please note: You can personally ensure that the proceedings before the Rent Tribunal proceed smoothly. This can be done by:
- sending all the information that the Rent Tribunal requires expeditiously in order that the dossier is complete. The application mentions the required information;
- being present during the survey at the house;
- being present during the hearing;
- communicating changes in contact details (address / telephone number) in a timely matter.